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Nadal powers to sixth Barcelona title

Rafa Nadal defeated David Ferrer in straight sets to claim the Barcelona Open title.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

World number one defeats compatriot David Ferrer in straight sets in Barcelona Open final

Spaniard claims his sixth win at the event

Nadal extends unbeaten run on clay to 34 matches

(CNN) -- Spain's Rafael Nadal has beaten compatriot David Ferrer 6-2 6-4 in the final of the Barcelona Open to claim his sixth win at the event.

Nadal took one hour and 49 minutes to overcome the world number six in front of a packed crowd at the Real Club de Tenis on Sunday.

"It's unbelievable. I'm very happy to come back and win here after not playing last year (because of a knee injury). It was a difficult decision, it's a always a special dream to play in this tournament," Nadal said, AFP reported.

Earlier, Nadal had wasted no time in sprinting into a one set lead, but Ferrer showed resistance in the second, managing to break the clay court maestro's serve in the fifth game to lead 4-2.

It's unbelievable. I'm very happy to come back and win here after not playing last year--Rafa Nadal

The Spaniard praised his opponent after the match saying Ferrer "deserves to win a major title," because "he's doing very well week after week."

Nadal now lies alone in third place on the all-time clay-court trophy winners list with 31 career titles to date, with only Argentina's Guillermo Vilas (45 titles), and Austrian Thomas Muster (40) ahead of him.

The 24-year-old has now won 34 consecutive matches on clay since his last defeat to Robin Soderling in the fourth round of the French Open in 2009.